Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gaming Machines

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have commissioned small-scale qualitative research to assess the appropriate stakes for category B2 gaming machines.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all submissions to the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures will be published alongside the review.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings civil servants and ministers have had with stakeholders about the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures;and what were the (1) dates, (2) locations, and (3) attendees, of each of those meetings.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government set out four illustrative options at consultation for a stake reduction on B2 gaming machines. We are considering all the available evidence, including advice from the Gambling Commission and published research, and will set out our response in due course. As part of this the Government intends to publish the key responses to the consultation, subject to the respondents permission. The following table lists the meetings that civil servants have had with stakeholders where the consultation was mentioned or discussed since it was launched on 31 October 2017. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk DateOrganisationLocation17/11/17GambleAwareDCMS21/11/17All Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTsPalace of Westminster22/11/2017Gambling Business Group (GBG)DCMS23/11/17Remote Gambling Association (RGA)RGA23/11/17GambleAwareDCMS27/11/2017British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA)DCMS28/11/2017British Horseracing Authority (BHA)DCMS30/11/2017Local Government Association (LGA)LGA30/11/2017GambleAwareGambleAware5/12/2017Justice4puntersDCMS7/12/17GambleAwareGambleAware13/12/17Bingo Association (BA)DCMS14/12/2017Association of British Bookmakers (ABB)ABB18/12/17RGADCMS18/12/2017Christian Faith GroupsDCMS10/01/18All Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTsPalace of Westminster11/01/18SkyDCMS15/1/2018SenetDCMS17/01/18BHADCMS23/1/18GamCareGamCare23/1/18Christian Faith GroupsDCMS24/1/18BADCMS30/1/18National Casino Forum (NCF), Hippodrome Casino, Rank Group, Grayling UK and Ireland, AspersDCMS31/01/2018GambleAware, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), Advertising Association (AA), ISBA, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Remote Gambling Association (RGA), SenetDCMS8/2/18ABBDCMS21/2/18BACTADCMS27/2/18BACTADCMS28/2/18BHADCMS7/3/18RGA, Bet365, Skybet, PaddyPower Betfair, KindredDCMS7/3/18ABB, PaddyPower Betfair, William Hill, Ladbrokes Coral, JenningsBet, BetFredDCMS20/3/18National Problem Gambling Clinic (NPGC)NPGC

Cambridge Analytica: Data Protection

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of data by Cambridge Analytica; and how they will ensure protection of personal data.

lord ashton of hyde: Cambridge Analytica's use of data is the subject of an investigation by the independent Information Commissioner. Questions about that investigation should be directed to the Information Commissioner's Office. The government's Data Protection Bill will strengthen data protection law and give the Information Commissioner tougher powers to ensure organisations comply. It will enhance control, transparency and security of data for people and businesses across the UK, and gives the Information Commissioner the power to levy significant fines against organisations that break data protection law or block the her investigations.

Home Office

Passports: Fees and Charges

lord forsyth of drumlean: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatincome was obtained from passport fees in each of the last three years.

baroness williams of trafford: Her Majesty’s Passport Office publishes information on its income within the Home Office annual report and accounts. A copy of the relevant section of the report and accounts for each of the past three financial years is attached together with the tables fro 2016-17 and 2015-16 below.Figures for the current financial year will be published within the Home Office annual report and accounts for 2017-18, which will be published before Parliamentary summer recess.The information can also be found in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at the following links:Financial year 2016/17, page 90 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017Immigration Health Surcharge income has not been included in the table below as the service is provided by the Department of Health.This analysis of income satisfies the Fees and Charges requirements of HM Treasury rather than IFRS 8 Operating Segments. Categories of income and costs below £10 million have been excluded from this analysis.  2016-17   SegmentNoteIncomeFull CostSurplus /(deficit)Fee recovery actualFee recovery target  £000£000£000%%Crime and Policing Group College of Policing - People Development115,23528,681(13,446)53-Crime and Policing Group SIA - Licensing and ACS Income224,95522,9212,034109100Crime and Policing Group DBS Disclosures and Update Service3154,282140,28014,002110100UK Visas & Immigration International Group - Visas4705,376364,158341,218194192UK Visas & Immigration Immigration Group - In country5476,999279,322197,677171192HM Passport Office -Passports6424,078323,897100,181131100HM Passport Office Certificate Services716,58121,900(5,319)76-Enablers Information Services8148,318413,269(264,951)36-  1,965,8241,594,428371,396Financial year 2015/16, page 109 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016Immigration Health Surcharge income has not been included in the table below as the service is provided by the Department of Health. Some income streams are charged below the cost of delivery where the Department has to maintain its international competitiveness. To compensate for this, some fees are set above the cost of delivery. In particular, the income for certain in-country applications is set at a level that allows for a contribution towards immigration related activities, in addition to covering the cost of processing applications. The overall aim is to ensure that income contributes to the end-to-end costs of the immigration system.  2015-16   SegmentNoteIncomeFull CostSurplus /(deficit)Fee recovery actualFee recovery target  £000£000£000%%Crime and Policing Group College of Policing - People Development114,58153,357(-38,776)27-Crime and Policing Group SIA - Licensing and ACS Income229,56725,5364,031116100Crime and Policing Group DBS Disclosures and Update Service3146,646126,93719,709116100UK Visas & Immigration International Group - Visas4637,112379,810257,302168169UK Visas & Immigration Immigration Group - In country5449,633271,290178,343166201HM Passport Office -Passports6476,548411,97164,577116100HM Passport Office Certificate Services714,45112,7051,746114100Enablers Information Services8145,665366,660(-220,995)401  1,914,2031,648,266265,937  Financial year 2014/15, page 111https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441282/HO-AR15_web.pdf  Restated 2014-15   SegmentNoteIncomeFull CostSurplus /(deficit)Fee recovery actualFee recovery target  £000£000£000%%Crime and Policing Group College of Policing - People Development112,39125,918(13,527)48-Crime and Policing Group SIA - Licensing and ACS Income230,21827,5022,.716110100Crime and Policing Group DBS Disclosures and Update Service3144,696137,8266,870105100UK Visas & Immigration International Group - Visas4585,500393,216192,284149148UK Visas & Immigration Immigration Group - In country5429,300198,936230,364216239HM Passport Office -Passports6478,819422,28556,534113100HM Passport Office Certificate Services714,48212,7481,734114100Enablers Information Services897,318335,419(238,101)29-  1,792,7241,553,850238,874  



Fees and Charges - 2016-17 Page 90
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Fees Charges - 2015-16 - Page 109
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Fees Charges - 2014-15 - Page 111
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Treasury

Financial Services: Technology

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK continues to be a global leader in the financial technology sector; and how they are attracting new firms to that sector.

lord bates: The government is taking significant steps to ensure that the UK continues to be a global leader in financial technology. For example, Open Banking, launched in January through a managed roll-out, is a radical intervention, driven by government, that will allow consumers and SMEs to access a range of new and innovative products that better meet their needs by providing third party providers with secure access to their current accounts. Open Banking uses standardised Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), making it easier and cheaper for Fintech firms to deploy their products. The government has also recently launched a Fintech Sector Strategy, setting out the action the government has taken to make the UK the best place to grow a Fintech business, and further interventions in partnership with the regulators and industry to help maintain this position. For instance, the Strategy includes pilot schemes to help new fintech firms (and the financial services industry more widely) comply with regulations by building software which would automatically ensure they follow the rules, saving them time and money, and the creation of a set of industry standards which will enable fintech firms to more easily partner with existing banks.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Social Services: Children

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how theyintend to ensure that there is sufficient funding for local government children’s services.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Over the Spending Review period, councils will have access to more than £200 billion for local services, including children’s services. The 2018/19 Local Government Finance Settlement confirmed a real terms increase in resources available to local government over the next two years - £44.3 billion in 2017-18 to £45.6 billion in 2019-20. Core Spending Power is largely unringfenced so that local authorities can decide how to direct their funding.In addition, my Department and the Department for Education are working together on the fair funding review of relative needs and resources. This aims to address concerns about the current funding distributions. The Government is committed to working with partners to understand how the Department for Education might further support improvement across the system.

Department for Education

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether student loans will be available for EU students studying in the UK during the (1) 2019–20, and (2) 2020–21, academic years.

lord agnew of oulton: EU students, staff and researchers make an important contribution to our universities. We want that contribution to continue and are confident – given the quality of our higher education sector – that it will. Applications for courses starting in 2019/20 do not open until September 2018, and we will ensure students starting courses in that academic year have information well in advance of this date.

Schools: Transport

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to maintain the statutory responsibility for local authorities to provide free school transport; and whether they intend to vary the terms of that responsibility.

lord agnew of oulton: Statutory responsibility for providing free home to school transport for eligible children rests with local authorities. There are currently no plans to change those duties.

Schools: Syria

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will initiate a schools twinning programme between schools in England and schools in Syria.

lord agnew of oulton: The Department for Education has no plans to initiate a twinning programme between schools in England and schools in Syria. Before the conflict, the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme operated in Syria and provided a funded opportunity for teachers in the UK and the Middle East North Africa region to meet and share best practice.   Whilst this programme is not currently active in Syria, schools in Jordan, where there are a number of Syrian refugees, and schools in Lebanon, where there are high proportions of Syrian pupils, continue to participate in the programme. Once the situation in Syria stabilises, the Department for Education would be very supportive of Syria re-joining the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme.